Indictment comes down more than a year after Yahoo! Sports report

An Auburn-Arkansas basketball game on Jan. 25, 2012 was compromised, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Montgomery, Ala.

Former Auburn point guard Varez Ward was arrested Monday and indicted on two counts related to point shaving.

U.S. Attorney George Beck Jr. told The Associated Press that Ward allegedly tried to fix the 2012 SEC game at Arkansas. Auburn was a 9-point road underdog and lost, 56-53, covering the spread, but prosecutors claim Ward's objective was just to make sure the Tigers lost.

Arkansas would have been around a -500 favorite to win straight-up, meaning you'd have to wager $500 to win $100 on the Razorbacks.

Ward had minimal impact on the game. He came off the bench and played only 19 seconds, before collapsing with an apparent leg injury.

"It is obviously an extremely serious situation anytime allegations of point shaving are made," Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said in a statement. "When this matter was brought to our attention in 2012, Auburn immediately reported what we knew to the FBI, the NCAA and the SEC. Since this matter is a pending criminal case, it is not appropriate for us to make any further comments.”

There are two counts listed in the indictment, which was released last Thursday. Kyievarez "Varez" Ward conspired with others to commit a sports bribery offense and “did an act to effect the object of the conspiracy, to-wit: did solicit one or more individuals to influence a sporting contest, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371,” according to the indictment.

On March 8, 2012, Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson reported that the FBI had been investigating Ward, after he and guard Chris Denson were suspended before a Feb. 25 game against Arkansas. In addition to the first Arkansas game, Robinson's report also pointed to a 68-50 loss to Alabama last February.

Auburn failed to cover the spread as a 5-point underdog in the loss to Alabama. Ward went 1 of 5 from the floor for three points with six turnovers in 17 minutes.

Denson was questioned as part of the investigation, but was cleared shortly after he was suspended and allowed to return to the team, WSFA 12 News noted on its website.

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